American. Lebanese. Human being.

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Nasrallah blames Lebanese state, panders to base

Nasrallah went all out defending Hizbullah's intervention in
Syria today, vowing a "long battle" and telling the Syrian opposition
that they will not succeed in toppling the Assad regime militarily.

Most strikingly, he blamed the militia's intervention in Qusayr
on the Lebanese state's alleged failure to protect Lebanese in Syria. This is
the same excuse Hizbullah officials are using to placate their grieving
supporters in funerals of fighters killed while fighting other Arabs in Syria.

So once again, Nasrallah justifies his actions by blaming
it on a weak Lebanese state, which, ironically, his group is responsible for
weakening. This is a confirmation of Hizbullah's policies: By ensuring the
state's institutions are weak, its foreign policy prisoner of Syria and Iran,
and by denying democracy from taking its course, Hizbullah can continue to
exist as a regional militia that allows itself to intervene military on behalf
of Iran in any local, regional or world conflict.

But if the above is a shameless admission of guilt, it's
also a desperate attempt to placate their troops and their families, by pandering
to long held beliefs of government neglect and Sunni disregard for Shia
religious sensitivities.

Nasrallah in his speech not only defined the US, Israel, the
Arab League and the Syrian opposition as enemies, but also added the Lebanese
state, which he said failed to protect Shias living in Syria and to bring back
Shia abductees. He is indirectly telling
his followers that their actions in Syria are not dissimilar to kidnapping
Israeli soldiers and starting a war over Lebanese prisoners held in Israel.

This being an existential battle for Hizbullah, which is
possibly facing growing resentment from many Shias losing their sons in a jihad
they did not subscribe to, Nasrallah reverted to the good old scapegoat
technique. It's the Shias vs. the rest, and "everyone else but us is to blame
for our misery", which in this case, is self-inflicted. But that's not
something Nasrallah will admit, though one hopes some Lebanese Shias will
finally get.

Comments

Nasrallah went all out defending Hizbullah's intervention in
Syria today, vowing a "long battle" and telling the Syrian opposition
that they will not succeed in toppling the Assad regime militarily.

Most strikingly, he blamed the militia's intervention in Qusayr
on the Lebanese state's alleged failure to protect Lebanese in Syria. This is
the same excuse Hizbullah officials are using to placate their grieving
supporters in funerals of fighters killed while fighting other Arabs in Syria.

So once again, Nasrallah justifies his actions by blaming
it on a weak Lebanese state, which, ironically, his group is responsible for
weakening. This is a confirmation of Hizbullah's policies: By ensuring the
state's institutions are weak, its foreign policy prisoner of Syria and Iran,
and by denying democracy from taking its course, Hizbullah can continue to
exist as a regional militia that allows itself to intervene military on behalf
of Iran in any local, regional or world conflict.

But if the above is a shameless admission of guilt, it's
also a desperate attempt to placate their troops and their families, by pandering
to long held beliefs of government neglect and Sunni disregard for Shia
religious sensitivities.

Nasrallah in his speech not only defined the US, Israel, the
Arab League and the Syrian opposition as enemies, but also added the Lebanese
state, which he said failed to protect Shias living in Syria and to bring back
Shia abductees. He is indirectly telling
his followers that their actions in Syria are not dissimilar to kidnapping
Israeli soldiers and starting a war over Lebanese prisoners held in Israel.

This being an existential battle for Hizbullah, which is
possibly facing growing resentment from many Shias losing their sons in a jihad
they did not subscribe to, Nasrallah reverted to the good old scapegoat
technique. It's the Shias vs. the rest, and "everyone else but us is to blame
for our misery", which in this case, is self-inflicted. But that's not
something Nasrallah will admit, though one hopes some Lebanese Shias will
finally get.